1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a color processing device, a color processing method and a storage medium storing a color processing program, and more specifically relates to a color processing device and method provided with a color range conversion component that specifies color range conversion conditions and performs a conversion of input color signals such that a color range of the input color signals falls into a color reproduction range of a designated device in a predetermined color space which is independent of the designated device, and to a storage medium that stores a color processing program for causing a computer to function as the color processing device.
2. Related Art
Color ranges that are reproducible by image output devices such as color printers, displays and the like and color ranges that are acceptable for image input devices such as scanners and the like differ with types and models of the devices. For example, when printing an image displayed at a display with a color printer or the like, if color signals that have been used for display of the image at the display are outputted to the color printer as is, colors of the images that are reproduced by the two devices will be remarkably different, due to differences between the color ranges of the two devices and suchlike. Technologies have been proposed from heretofore for ameliorating such color reproduction differences by performing a color range conversion (also known as gamut mapping), to replace colors of output object color signals with colors in a color range of a color signal output object device, in a device-independent color space which is not dependent on particular devices (for example, in a uniform-perception color space such as the L*a*b* color space advocated by the CIE (Commission International de l'Eclairage (International Commission on Illumination)), a tristimulus XYZ color system color space or the like, or in a color appearance model color space such as CIECAM02 (Color Appearance Model 2002), or the like).
Specification of conversion conditions for the color range conversion can be realized by, for example, using a predetermined conversion rule (also known as a mapping rule) to convert an input color value to an arbitrary color value (output color value) in an output color range (a color reproduction range in the device-independent color space for an output side device) and associating the input color value with the output color value, and performing this for each of individual input color values, which are color values located in an input color range (a color reproduction range of an input side device in the device-independent color space). As the above-mentioned conversion rule, various rules have been proposed heretofore.